Polygon building structure



y 2, 1967' H. E. NATALIS 3,316,682

POLYGON BUILDING STRUCTURE Filed March 2, 1964 3 Sheetsheet l /5 ll l g/2 F772 ///1 x L4H: \Z'L INVENTOR. HERBERT 6'. NATA L15 EAM/ y 2, 1957H. E. NATALIS 3,316,682

POLYGON BUILDING STRUCTURE Filed March 2, 1964 6 Sheets-$heet 2INVENTOR. HERBf/PTE. NA 744 /.S

AGE N7- y 2, 1957 H. E. NATALIS POLYGON BUILDING STRUCTURE 3Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed March 2, 1964 INVENTOR. f/f/FEERTE. WAIT/41.15

United States Patent C 3,316,682 POLYGON BUILDING STRUCTURE Herbert E.Natalis, 22 Linda Circle, Matawan, NJ. 07747 Filed Mar. 2, 1964, Ser.No. 348,414 2 Claims. (Cl. 52-237) This invention relates to buildingstructures and the components therefor. More particularly, thisinvention relates to structural units of integrated form, wherein theindividual units, when employed for fabrication of a roof and wall of apolygon building or the like, comprise both the protective covering aswell as the framework of the structure in which they are incorporated.

One specific example in which the individual structural units of thisinvention may be employed to great advantage is in the fabrication of apolygon shaped structure. When incorporated into this type of structurethe structural units provide a building structure having exceptionalstrength, lightness, and attractiveness. The individual structural unitstaken alone are unique in configuration. They are also rugged, light inweight and exceptionally easy to handle and easy to fabricate.

It is an object of this invention to provide a building structure inwhich the units are exceptionally light in weight and in which thestructure may be quickly and easily assembled or disassembled byunskilled labor.

It is an object of this invention to provide a polygon shaped buildingstructure wherein each unit has an exceptionally high strength to weightratio.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a structural unitfor building structures wherein the framework of the finished design isautomatically formed by components of the structural units as they arecombined to form the completed structure.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a building wallmade up of a plurality of structural units according to this inventionwhich are arranged in such a fashion that the distribution of stress isthat of .a uniform circular shell under similar loading.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a buildingstructure comprised of a plurality of structural units wherein eachstructural unit comprises both a stressed skin and at the same timeperforms as the framework of the finished structure.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a structural unitin which the particular design and construction effectively resistsflexing and bending after all units have been completely connected.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a buildingstructure comprised of structural units for the wall which arerectangular in form and structural units for the roof that arequadrangular in form with the units being so assembled together that thevarious load stresses imposed on the units are equally divided to form acontinuous shell and equal distribution of stresses.

A further object of this invention is to provide a tank wall made up ofa plurality of structural units according to this invention which arearranged in such fashion that the distribution of stress is in the formof a homogeneous shell.

Further objects of this invention shall be apparent by reference to theaccompanying detailed description and the drawings in which FIG. 1 is aperspective illustration of a polygon building structure.

FIG. 2 is a perspective illustration of an enlarged polygon buildingstructure.

FIG. 3 is a perspective illustration of a further embodiment of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a perspective illustration of a single structural wallelement, with interlocking flanges facing outward.

FIG. 5 is a perspective illustration of a single structural wallelement, with interlocking flanges facing inward.

'FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a roof element illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a root element illustrated in FIGS. 2and 3.

d 'FIlG. 8 is an enlarged perspective view of a structural etai FIG. 9is a detail of a further embodiment of FIGS. 6 and 7.

FIG. 10 is an elevational view of a further embodiment of the wallstructure.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 11-11 of FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is an elevational detail of a partition element.

FIG. 13 is a plan view of a portion of a sectional base for the buildingshown in FIGS. 1, 2 and -3.

FIG. 14 is an elevational view of FIG. 13.

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 1515 of FIG. 14, and

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of a further embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 17 is a perspective elevational view of a further embodimentof'this invention, and *FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view of a variationof a structural joint.

Referring to the drawings and specifically FIG. 1 there is illustrated apolygon shaped building structure comprised of a plurality of wall units10 and a plurality of roof elements 11 all joined at their edges to forma composite structure. Referring to FIG. 2 there is illustrated afurther embodiment of this invention in which a building structure ofapproximately twice the diameter of the structure shown in FIG. 1 may beconstructed using the same wall units 10 and provided with a pluralityof roof units 111A. With the structure illustrated in FIG. 2, aplurality of supporting column 112 are necessary to support the innerperiphery of the joined elements 11A. Referring to FIG. 4 there isillustrated a single wall unit :10 which may be comprised of a singlesheet of metal in which the edges have been crimped or turned to formfour separate edges 10A, 10B, 10C and ND. The edges 10B are in turnperforated with apertures 14 to permit the means of clamping one unit tothe next unit as illustrated in FIG. 4. Utilizing clamps 15 and theedges 101) which are U or V shaped and provided with a pair of alignedapertures 14A, as illustrated in an enlarged view in FIG. 8, the clamp15 which is comprised of a pivotal end 15A and a U shaped and connectedby an arm 15B, the clamp by means of its end 15A is passed through oneof the apertures 14A of the edge 10D and the aperture 14 of an adjoiningedge 16B when it is aligned and then through the opposite aperture 14Aand then pivotally moved so that the U shaped end 15C clamps over the Ushaped format-ion of the edge 10D to retain clamp -15 locked in thisposition to in turn lock the adjoining edges of panels 10 as illustratedin FIG. 4. It is to be noted that in view of the form taken by panel 10it is easy to install insulating panels 16 to the inside (FIG. 4) or ineach of the panels 10 (FIG. 5.). It is also to be noted that the panels10 may be a single sheet of material either metal or plastic boards or awood board. It is to be further noted that with any treatment, such asdoors or windows to be installed within a panel, they do not interruptthe structural value of each panel. In FIG. 4 there is illustrated awindow 18 installed as a unit in an aperture 19 that has been cut inpanel 10. Similarly referring to FIG. 1 two panels may be utilized toprovide a door 20 and due to the radial stress of the complete wall, thedoor cannot be cut completely through but a structural element must beused to tie across the top and bottom to provide the panels with thenecessary strength to permit tying to the akrlljtfiining panels 10 andto retain the complete radial s e Referring to 'FIG. 5 there isillustrated the same panel but reversed so that the joining edges arefaced towards the inside of the building so that the building iscompletely locked from the inside and cannot be tampered with to beopened from the outside. In this embodiment the edges 10B and 10D arejoined in the same fashion as illustrated in FIG. 4 and in addition acovering channel 21 may be utilized to cover the joints to provide amore pleasing appearance. The attachment of channels 21 may be in anyconventional manner such as inserting tabs 22 through 23 in panel 10 andbending over the tab 22. A covering strip 24 may be also provided forthe exterior edge of the joints between panels for making a water tightseal for the exterior of the building. Strip 24 may also be applied inany conventional manner such as by rivets and a weather proofing seal orcaulking fluid may be used to insure a weather tight joint.

Referring to FIG. 6 there is illustrated a typical roof panel 11quadrangular in form. The manner of connecting adjacent panels asillustrated in FIG. 1 is similar to the manner of connecting panels 10as illustrated in FIG. 4. The same perforations 14 are formed in theedge 11B and the same perforations 14A are formed in the edge 11D andthe same clamps already described are utilized. Thus a plurality ofpanels 11 may be joined to form a circular roof as illustrated in FIG.1, the outer periphery resting upon the upper edge 10A of panels .10. Itis to be noted that panels 11 are joined to form a cone shapedstructure, that is, the angle of panel 11 is a minimum of 15 above thehorizontal so that the joined structure retains a structural rigidity tosupport at its periphery the complete structural load or weight of theentire roof plus a required load capacity for snow. Of course if theapex of the cone is increased to greater than 15 from the horizontal,the load capacity of the roof will increase so that the roof may bedesigned to comply with any building code requirements. In addition itis to be noted that panels 11 when joined to form a circular roof asillustrated in FIG. 1, there is a small circular opening around the apexof the cone shaped area. This is beneficial to the structure, that is,in the hot weather this permits a natural ventilation of the coveredarea. To provide a complete coverage of this opening to make itrain-proof, a small cone 9 may be mounted over the apex of the cone. Themanner of supporting cone 9 may be simply by resting it upon the ridgesformed by the joints of panels 11 or an interior structure 13 orexterior structure 13A may be utilized to carry the cone 9 as an entireseparate element over the central opening in the roof.

Referring to FIG. 7 there is illustrated a similar quadrangular panel 11A, that is, similar to panel 111 of FIG. 6 except that the angle of thejoining edges 11D and 11B is half the angle of the panels 11 to permitforming a larger structure such as shown in FIG. 2. If the structureshown in FIG. 2 is double the diameter of the structure shown in FIG. 1,the panels 11 and 11A may be utilized in a structure shown in FIG. 3,that is, the outer tier of roof panels 11A in FIG. 3 will be similar tothe panels 11A shown in FIG. 2 and the central tier of panels .11 willbe similar to the panels 11 shown in FIG. 1 and of course panels 11 attheir base edge 11C will be joined to the upper edge of panel 111A.However at this joining edge, there will be a plurality of supports 12as illustrated in FIG. 2 and as in FIG. 1 a central cone 9 may beutilized in the same manner as described in FIG. 1. It is also to beunderstood that although FIGS. 1 and 3 have been described .ascompletely covered circular structure, the roof and wall structure maybe formed with any one or more panels removed. However in this case themissing section X has to be provided with tie bars Z, Z (FIG. 2) thusholding the structure together. The sector removed may be one or morepanels up to half of the structure. Due to the manner of connecting allpanels remaining and the tie rods this permits a distribution of stresswithout weakening the structure unduly. It is thus apparent that theroof structure may be formed as a half-circle with the tie rods acrossthe opening and still retain the required structural support, although adegree of the structural strength is forfeited, but due to theattachment of the roof structure to the wall structure sufiicientstrength and balance is retained.

A further embodiment of panel 11 and 11A is illustrated in FIG. 9 inwhich the edge 11B is formed in a U shape and the free edge M isextended downward.

Referring to FIG. 16 there is illustrated a hanging ceiling so suspendedfrom the free edge M of the panel 11 or 11A. The hanging straps 51 maybe of any desired length with the upper end 52 attached to edge M byclips or bolts and the lower end 53 similarly attached to an inverted Tstrip. Ceiling panels 54 are simply slipped into position as illustratedand supported by the T strips.

A further embodiment of this invention is illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11in which a plurality of panels 10E that are similar to panels 10 of theprior embodiment except that one edge 10F is formed circular to about315, and the opposite edge 106 is formed circular to about 315. Eachcircle is formed using two radii. Then edge 10G mates and fits sidewiseinto the edge 10F and rotates into position as illustrated in FIG. 11.Within the center of the mating circular edges there is provided a pin30. Pin 30 can be hollow in the form of a pipe of a diameter 31 to fitthe internal radius of the circular aperture formed by the mating edgesof the panels 10E. Or pin 30 may be formed as a solid central rod 30with enlarged bushings 33 of a diameter 31 to fit the central apertureformed by the circular mating edges of the panels 10E. It is to be notedthat pin or pipe 31 or 30 may be inserted through the length of themating edges of panels 10E and in addition may extend into the base orground upon which the structure is to be mounted to thus anchor thestructure solidly upon the base. This particular embodiment also lendsitself to some variations, that is, by forming apertures 32 in thecircular edges 10F and 10G so that the apertures 32 will be positionedin alignment when the panels are positioned in their proper angularrelationship (in this example 15) thus forming a complete aperture topermit inserting the anchoring elements 34 illustrated in FIG. 12,elements 34 being extended from a partition wall 35. Elements 34 must ofcourse be aligned with the position of the apertures 32 so that thepartition 35 may be readily placed in abutting relationship with thecoacting circular edges thus hanging partition 35 to permit dividing acircular structure into a plurality of compartments and the outer edgesof partitions 35 may be anchored or connected in any usual manner toform open compartments or closed compartments as desired.

Referring to FIGS. 13, 14, and 15, there is illustrated a sectional baseto be used in connection with the panels 10 as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 3,4, 5, and 10. The sectional base is comprised of a plurality of strips60. The strips are L shaped in form as illustrated in FIG. 15. With afiat base 61 to rest upon the ground and an upright leg 62 which isplaced inside the wall or panel 10. The base or panel 10 thus rests uponthe L shaped strip 60. The strips 60 are interconnected at each end tothe adjoining strip. As illustrated in FIG. 14 and one end 63 of strip60 is provided with a lower extension while the opposite end 64 of strip60 is provided with an upper extension. The end 63 is provided with asmall circular threaded aperture 65 large enough to receive the centerthreaded end of the rod or post 30 FIG. 10. While the end 64 is providedwith an elongated aperture 66 to permit adjustment or variation in thepositioning of the strips with relation to each other. Therefore it isapparent that the buildings illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 may bereadily positioned upon the base comprised of strips 60 to prevent theflanged lower edge of panels from sinking into the ground and they willthus retain the complete structure on a fairly level base. Although thebase has been described in connection with the use of the pipe or pin itmay also be used in connection with the panels shown in FIGS. 4 and 5without using the pins 30. In this instance it is possible to utilizeanchoring pins simply inserted through the base into the ground, whilethe panel flange 10C can be connected to the base through aperture 14.

Referring to FIG. 17 there is illustrated a still further embodiment ofthis invention in which the panels 10 illustrated in FIG. 4 are combinedto make a first tier or ring 40 and in which a plurality of panels 10are combined to make a second tier 41 and a third group of panels 10 arecombined to make a third tier 42. In this embodiment the upper and loweredges 10A and 10C of panels 10 are utilized and similar apertures 14 areprovided so that the first tier 40 may be structurally joined to thesecond tier 41 by means of the edge 10A and 10C and similarly the thirdtier 42 may be joined to the second tier 41 and the roof panels 11 maybe combined as shown in FIG. 1 and the edges 11C as shown in FIG. 6 maybe utilized to join to the edges 10A of the upper tier. A furtherembodiment of this particular connection would be to provide the edge11C in a U shaped or crimed form (FIG. 18) similar to edge 10D so thatthe flange 10A of panel 10 will fit into the U shaped edge 11C toprovide a better structural joint. With the structure completely joinedas illustrated in FIG. 17, a tank may be quickly and easily formed forthe storage of bulk material and the radial stress may be reinforced byincreasing the number of clamps 15 utilized or by additionally providingreinforcing bands 45 around the complete circular structure if required.

Although this invention is primarily drawn around the formation of apolygon shaped structure comprised of panels of minimum thickness, thepanels may be of any rigid material providing the necessary structuralstrength "and the panels may be joined by bolts or any manner ofretaining the joints rigidly aflixed without departing from the spiritof this invention and although a particular designed panel has beenillustrated, the panels may be larger in size and somewhat diiferent inshape, that is, square or elongated rectangularly or trapezoidal in formwithout departing from the spirit of this invention and the panelsalthough described as joined to form a polygon shaped structure, theymay be joined to form a half-round or half polygon structure or an outof round structure without departing from the spirit of this inventionalthongh one type of base has been illustrated the base may take otherforms such as a foundation type of base unit without departing from thespirit of this invention and this invention shall be limited only by theappended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A prefabricated structural panel adapted for use in multiple in awall structure comprising a unitary quadrangular flat member providedwith an upper and lower flanged edge and two partially circular matingedges, formed to interlock with an adjoining edge, a locking pin beingsmaller in diameter than the diameter of said circular mating edges andfitted with bushings that are of the same diameter as said circularmating edge, said bushings spaced apart on said locking pin and aplurality of apertures formed in said partially circular mating edgesand located between said bushings, said locking pin fitted between theinterlocking partially circular edges of adjoining members, to form aunitary ring shaped wall.

2. In a ring shaped wall according to claim 1, a plurality of partitionshaving anchoring hook shaped elements on one side, said anchoring hookshaped elements spaced to fit into said apertures of said mating edgesof said panels to hang and support said partitions and provide aplurality of compartments within said ring shaped wall.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 446.028 2/1891Smith 52-246 X 493,355 3/1893 Erickson 52245 X 922,329 5/1909 Porter52-82 X 1,232,604 7/1917 Quick 52-82 X 2,918,151 12/1959 Kennedy 52-81 X2,918,992 12/1959 Gelsavage 5281 2,953,276 9/ 1960 Dunn 52-245 X2,967,379 1/196-1 Small 5282 X 3,040,478 6/1962 Ferguson 52-82 X3,197,926 8/1965 Shumaker 52588 X FOREIGN PATENTS 7,889 6/1927Australia.

FRANK L. ABBOTT, Primary Examiner. RICHARD W. COOKE, Jr., Examiner. C.G. MUELLER, Assistant Examiner,

1. A PREFABRICATED STRUCTURAL PANEL ADAPTED FOR USE IN MULTIPLE IN AWALL STRUCTURE COMPRISING A UNITARY QUADRANGULAR FLAT MEMBER PROVIDEDWITH AN UPPER AND LOWER FLANGED EDGE AND TWO PARTIALLY CIRCULAR MATINGEDGES, FORMED TO INTERLOCK WITH AN ADJOINING EDGE, A LOCKING PIN BEINGSMALLER IN DIAMETER THAN THE DIAMETER OF SAID CIRCULAR MATING EDGES ANDFITTED WITH BUSHINGS THAT ARE OF THE SAME DIAMETER AS SAID CIRCULARMATING EDGE, SAID BUSHINGS SPACED APRT ON SAID LOCKING PIN AND APLURALITY OF APERTURES FORMED IN SAID PARTIALLY CIRCULAR MATING EDGESAND LOCATED BETWEEN SAID BUSHINGS, SAID LOCKING PIN FITTED BETWEEN THEINTERLOCKING PARTIALLY CIRCULAR EDGES OF ADJOINING MEMBERS, TO FORM AUNITARY RING SHAPED WALL.